How to get and use the Stalwart in Helldivers 2

Every good citizen of Super Earth knows their arsenal, be it a powerful laser cannon or a basic machine gun. The Stalwart might look innocuous, but for many missions in Helldivers 2, it proves its worth against swathes of enemies. Let’s talk about how to unlock this sleeper threat.

How to unlock the Stalwart in Helldivers 2

The M-105 Stalwart is a Stratagem in Helldivers 2, the third option in the Patriotic Administration Center. It costs 3500 Requisition Slips to unlock this Support Weapon, and you can purchase it as soon as you reach level two. It serves as a lighter option than the basic Machine Gun Stratagem, with slightly more ammo and maneuverability at the cost of damage and armor piercing.

As soon as you get 3500 Requisition Slips, you can purchase the Stalwart from the console at the side of your Ship’s lobby—as long as you’ve managed to reach level two by the time you get that many. You must then equip the Stalwart Stratagem in your Loadout menu before you drop into a mission.

You can call in the Stalwart just like you would the Machine Gun, but with a different code: ▼◄▼▲▲◄. After three seconds, it’ll land in a pod, and you can pick it up to equip it as your Support Weapon. The Stratagem then goes on cooldown for eight minutes. During that time, if you die with the Stalwart, you’ll have to pick it back up off the ground to keep using it.

The Stalwart comes with a maximum of three extra magazines—for a total of around 1,000 bullets—and can switch to a faster or slower fire rate by holding the Reload button. Upgrades to your Ship Modules can further improve this gun’s starting ammo and cooldown timer, but that requires Samples.

How to easily kill 200 enemies with the Stalwart in Helldivers 2

Because of the Stalwart’s lower armor penetration, we recommend bringing the gun to a planet with a Terminid infestation and running an Eradicate mission type if you want 200 easy kills with it. Terminid Planets bring more low-level bugs to the fray, so they’re slightly better for mulching kills than their robotic counterparts. Eradicate missions guarantee high spawn rates, making it more likely you’ll find your kills quickly. In addition, bringing allies with you can substantially cut down how many kills you actually need.

Eradicate missions are the priority here. Both Terminid and Automaton Eradicate missions come with increased spawn rates and more frequent low-level enemy spawns than standard missions. They’re also faster—taking around five to 10 minutes if you’re not struggling—so you can get right back into another mission without wasting time traversing the map. You’ll also want to be on a higher difficulty. The more difficult the Eradicate mission, the more enemies spawn and the higher enemy cap there is.

The Stalwart’s weakness of only piercing Light armor is problematic against both of these enemy types. You won’t be able to hurt Guards or Scout Striders very effectively, and you can’t even tickle Chargers or Tanks. But, the Automatons have more dangerous foes and don’t spawn their weakest units as often as the bugs do. While it is possible to kill 200 Automatons with the Stalwart, Terminids are a simpler and easier target.

To get these kills quickly, use the Stalwart as your primary weapon while you complete your Personal Order. The Stalwart’s excellent ammo count and solid damage lets you tear through low-armor enemies even faster than a Breaker or Sickle. Use the high rate of fire mode to decimate armies of Scavengers and Hunters. But, be ready to swap to a Stratagem—like the 500kg Bomb—or grenades if a larger, more armored enemy shows up. And keep your eye out for ammo boxes, since the Stalwart doesn’t fully reload when it picks up ammo.

For maximum optimization, you’ll need to get friends or randoms that are also willing to use a Stalwart. Personal Orders that focus on weapon kills currently share kill credit between Divers. So, if everyone in a four-player squad manages to kill 50 enemies with a Stalwart, everyone’s Personal Order will be completed. Even one extra friend with a Stalwart cuts your effort in half.